Life In A Circus: The Mrs Jumbo Story
by Wyatt W. Buell
Summary: Have you ever wonder what Mrs. Jumbo went through in Dumbo? Well, you're about to see how one elephant had and lost her son, how the circus fell apart, and what she did in retirement.


Introduction

The circus is pretty much what people do who want to do the impossible. Now a days, a circus can get criticism from animal activists who say that they don't belong in the circus but in the wild. Well here's the thing, back during my day, there was no PETA at all. Apparently, circus abuse wasn't talked about that much until a few decades later. Now for this story, you would expect it to have my son Dumbo right? Well, here's the thing I will talk about him during the story. Another thing you should know is my son didn't live very long. But, don't worry i'll explain that part later. For those who don't know me, my name is Harriet Jumbo or Mrs Jumbo for short. Honestly, life in the circus wasn't bad at first when my son arrived but after what happened to him later on is something that's not easy to explain but that will be for later. See, when your in the circus business, you have to make sure you get your show ready, hire acrobats, clowns, magicians, and also, you need animals that will be able to perform year round. It can be challenging at first but once you get used to it, you will have sold out crowds, people coming to see the so called "Greatest Show On Earth". However, just because your circus is good at first, doesn't mean it lasts forever. For example, your show could lose it's popularity because of either there are less crowds, losing money for the budget, people from your staff either quit or get fired, and your dream will fall apart in front of you. Trust me, i've seen the circus I knew fell apart because of what happened to my son. Man, if you think being a circus elephant is easy, obviously you haven't seen what we've been through. I'll explain that later but for now, the reason I wanted to tell you this story was because i've seen a lot happen during my time as a circus elephant and after I retired. You have known me in the Disney film "Dumbo", but they're are things the film didn't tell you about. Not to worry, I will explain how I got into the circus, life in the circus before Dumbo, my time with him, what sadly happened to him, what after after the incident, life after being forced to retire from the circus, and my reflection on what happened during my time in the circus. Trust me, this story will show that not every circus is warm, kind, and friendly.

Chapter 1: The Beginning

Before I was ever born, my mother once lived with her family in India. Everything was doing okay at first, until one day a circus scout was looking for the next show stealing attraction. Now, when they found my mother's family, they decided to separate them from her. She was then captured and then shipped to the Florida Zoo. What the staff didn't know was that my mother was pregnant with me. So, the staff knew the day would come when I would be born. Apparently, my mother was in labor when that day came. The staff watched on as my mother gave birth to me. I was at first a bit wobbly but thankfully my mother helped me stand up. It was pretty special that the staff saw this. Unfortunately, the ringmaster forced my mother to perform despite just giving birth to me. So, I was under the care of the zoo staff. I thought I would see my mother again but during one show she never made it out alive. She was walking on tight rope when all of the sudden, one wrong step and fell straight to the ground and landed on her hand causing her to break her skull. When the staff learned about this, they knew I was too young to know what happened to my mother so they decided to keep it a secret until I was ready to learn the truth. As time went on, I eventually learned what happened to my mother. I just couldn't believe it, how could she have done it without me? I knew she loved me so I eventually moved oon from the tragedy. Now, if you're wondering if there ever was a Mr. Jumbo, the truth is, there was no Mr. Jumbo because unfortunately, no males ever met me. So, basically I was a loner. One night, the storks arrived with baby animals but sadly, I never got mine yet. So, I sighed sadly.

Chapter 2: My Son Dumbo Arrives

Once the next morning came, everything was getting packed for the train that was heading to Atlanta. When I was about to board into my car, I looked up again but no luck. Then, the Elephant Matriarch pushed me into the car when suddenly, she got stuck. It took 6 workers to get her in and thankfully, she was in. Let me tell you about the Matriarch, Catty, Giddy, and Prissy. They're pretty much the most bossy, snooty, fucking assholes that I had to deal with. All they do is not give a fuck about me and just completely ignore me. Once the train was rolling along, a stork had my son in it and apparently, he was late. He then came to my cart, I signed on a notepad, He Sang the Happy Birthday Song, when asked about the name, I said "Jumbo Jr." and then he left. I wasted no time unwrapping it and it truly was a proud proud day. Once I first saw him, I knew this was the one. Everything was okay at first but when he sneezed, he had big ears. The others were in shock at what they've just seen and instead of Jumbo, they called him Dumbo and that's how my son got his name. One elephant pulled on his ear and I slapped her trunk. I knew I couldn't stand it, so I found a door and slammed it right on their fucking faces. Once that was done, me and my son can relax in peace and quiet and that's what we did for the rest of the trip.

Chapter 3: The Circus

Once the train stopped in Atlanta, it was pretty much all hands on deck in order to get the circus tent set up for the show. Me and my son helped out the others getting the tent set up and believe it or not, it was raining so we worked in the rain. Once the tent was ready, the circus then had a parade with the marching band, lions, tigers, a gorilla, a female hippopotamus, camels, and of course, the clowns. Once the elephants arrived, my son was grabbing my tail when he got distracted and fell into the mud. Thankfully, once we got back in the tent, I have him a bath and it made me glad to have him. We then started playing around and that would make me happy all the time. Everything was just okay until a group of shithead boys came. At first I letted him near them. But then, one of them blew in his ears and I wasted no time in spanking the living hell of him. The others ran away and the Ringmaster heard this. So, he and the workers tried to tie me down while they take my son away. I knew I shouldn't have done this but I grabbed the Ringmaster's leg and threw him to the water. He was mad as hell so he locked me in solidarity condfinment. I just felt miserable because I wasn't able to see my son.

Chapter 4: Timothy Mouse

I guess sometimes getting trouble is not good. I knew I shouldn't have spanked the boy but he blew in his ears so he deserves it. My son is going through depression while the other elephants talk about what happened earlier. While that was going on, Timothy Mouse was just eating peanuts when he saw how the other elephants completely ignore my son. Instead of watching, he decided to stand up for him and the others were afraid of a mouse so they ran away from him and honestly, i'm really glad he did that because they deserved it. Once that was taken care of, he then met my son. He knew those ears could make him a star. So, he sneakily snuck in the tent where the ringmaster was asleep. He told him of Dumbo and he had an idea for the next show.

Chapter 5: Pyramid Of Pachyderms

The next night, the ringmaster showed a full crowd what to expect when elephants stack on top of each other. They all went one by one on the tiny little ball and by the time the last elephant was on the top, my son then started to run. Then, all of a sudden, he tripped and collided with ball causing the pyramid to fall down. Now, I couldn't see it but I heard people panicking and running for their lives. The elephants made a huge mess in tearing apart the circus ring. Luckily and thankfully, no one was hurt but my son made a huge and regrettable mistake. We then headed to Missippi for the next show. The other elephants blamed my son for their injuries. The ringmaster decided for punishment, my son would be a clown.

Chapter 6: My Son Being A Clown And Baby Mine

During the next show, my son was on top of a building and he was forced to jump out of the window so he fell into the mat. I knew my son was miserable because he wants to see me again so Timothy decided to let him see me again. When Timothy said "Oh, Mrs. Jumbo", I knew my son was out there. I unfortunately couldn't move my feet because of the chains so I used my trunk to feel him for the first time since we got separated. I rocked him and that made me lucky to be his mother. Well, the visit was short, but it was worth it so after that, I waved him goodbye.

Chapter 7: The Miracle

Now, I didn't know what happen to him after that but I hoped he would make me proud. Well, the next night, he jumped and flew. I couldn't see it but he did it, my son finally proving himself that he can do it. So, in reward, I was free and we had a reunion and that made me happy in a long time. Now, you think that's it, well it turns out there out there's more to the story.

Chapter 8: What Happened Next

After my son's performance at the circus, it was clear that my son was the main attraction of the circus. The ringmaster knew my son was perfect. Everything was finally going good but one day, he accidentally runs away. I told him to come back, but he didn't listen. The circus staff was in trouble because without my son, the show can't go on. So, they decided to cancel the next few shows because of what happened. Thankfully a few days later, my son came back and I was relived because I thought i'd lost him. Things were back under control until one night, fate would take my son's life from me.

Chapter 9: The Tragedy

During one show, my son was about to fly sky high. I knew he could do it. But, once he started flying at first everything was okay. Then, out of nowhere, my son had a heart attack and he fell. I just couldn't believe it because this was the second tragedy since my mother's death. The audience was shocked about this and they couldn't believe this would happen. Not even the circus animal doctor could save my son.

Chapter 10: The Aftermath

Once the story of my son's tradgic death, everyone across the nation and world were sad because they were hoping to see my son but unfortunately they can't now. They knew someone was to blame. But, believe or not, no one was to blame. As it turns out, his young heart was unable to keep up with the rest of the body so it pretty much explains why he had the heart attack. After this happened, the circus I once knew started to fall and tear apart. Ticket sales were dropping because people were no longer interested in seeing the big top again. As fate would have it, the circus filed for bankruptcy and most of the animals were sold to other people. As for me, they had no choice but to let me live in the big world by myself.

Chapter 11: Retirement

At first, retirement wasn't all that bad because I was finally free. Once I was in the outside world, I knew I had to get a job. So, I was hired as a therapy animal for a group of people with autism. Honestly, i'm really glad I became a a therapy animal because I was sweet, kind, good hearted, and brave. Once I got done with that job, I knew it was time to live in peace and quiet. So, I eventually lived in a large, beautiful forest just outside of Atlanta and that's where I lived for the rest of my life.

Epilogue

When I look back at what happened in and out of the big top, I would remember those ups and downs. Sure, my son would've been here if it wasn't for the tragedy, but I moved on but I always remembered him. I died peacefully and I hope whoever reads this can understand, being a circus elephant is hard but when you're a mother, always remember to be you've always been: yourself.


End file.
